Thirteen Shetland Sheepdogs, often referred to as Shelties, are in need of loving forever homes after being released on Aug. 15 to Tri-State Shetland Sheepdog Rescue (TSSSR) following a six month stay at Animal Care and Control (ACC) where they were held as evidence against a canine-hoarding couple in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.

In February, the NYPD, ACC and the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office raided the house of Kolja Sustic, 64, and Pat Lim, removing 23 dogs that were living in substandard, inhumane conditions according to authorities. Ten of these dogs went to foster homes through ACC, while the remaining thirteen were boarded at the city shelter system until the case against their hoarder owners could be resolved.

According to Dr. Brian Abraham, owner of Noah’s Ark Veterinary Practice and a member of TSSSR’s board of directors, the dogs were severely malnourished, underweight and afraid of people (having) lived their entire lives in cages in the dark.”

“They had never been outside the house, they were not potty trained in any way and had no socialization at all,” said TSSSR Founder Julie Canzoneri, whose perseverance and unwavering determination eventually led to the raid that freed these animals.

Ranging from 18 months to 14 years of age, the dogs “lived in a house with no utilities (electric, water or heat), windows boarded up and no ventilation. They were in total darkness in a house infested with mice and full of garbage from the floor to the ceiling,” added Canzoneri.

Two weeks ago, Sustic and Lim forfeited ownership of the dogs, thereby giving way to their release from ACC. In addition to receiving several fines related to health-code violations inside the house, the couple skirted 23 counts of animal abuse by agreeing to forfeit all of the dogs over to the state, seek therapy, and never again possess another animal.

Following their release from ACC, all 13 dogs are being held at Noah’s Ark Veterinary